Building structure



Sept. 4, 1923. l,467,127

c. o. wALPER BUILDING STRUCTURE Original Filed Aug. 20. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 4, 1923. 1,467,327

c. o. WALPER BUILDING STRUCTURE` Original Filed Aug. 20, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Suva/whoa: L j 6I/ KCl www Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

srares UBARY ORA. WALPER, F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TG FRANK A.. LEN AN D ONE-THIRD TO BERNARD E. GMBH, BOTH OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

' BUILDING STRUCTURE.

Original application led August 20, 1921', Serial No. 493,921. Divided and this application filed July 24, 1922. Serial No. 576,969.

T 0 all whom t 11mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, CUnRY A a citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Detroit, in the county of Vayne and State of Michi an, have invented cer tain new and usefnlmprovements in Building Structures, of which the following isa specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a stem of build ing construction and has for its primary object the provision'of a rigid panel of sub stant-ially fireproof material to be used in. place of the usual wood or metal lat'h and rough plaster for interior walls and ceilings,

or in place of the various bases upon which stucco is applied to form exterior walls.

Another object of the invention is to utilize a product hitherto considered'as Waste,

as a building material for interior or exterior use, in constructin wallsresistant to heat, at a cost considera lyless than that of materials now ordinarily employed.

In the preferred construction, 'a plastic composition is used consisting of the waste product of asbestos manufacture'mixed with.

plaster. Asbestos occurs in veins of fibrous .finishing coat;

,magnesium silicate. The surroundin 'rock is usually of a similar composition ut is :io not sc fibrous. After most of the fibrous asbestos has been removed, the rock' mined therewith containing some fibrous asbestos is usualiy discarded and considered as waste.

It is sold as .rough asbestic or tailings When this is crushed, the resultant asbestic somewhat resembles a mixture of asbestos and talc.. Mixed with .a suitable plaster,

such as the ordinary blue plaster? ycontaining gypsum and lime, from fiveto fifty 40 per cent of the composition maybe asbestic to form the body of a irepoof wall board.

A composition ofA aster and asbestos permits nails to be driven therethrough with-- out cracking and by theuse of a nail set,

the heads may be oountersunk for -f additionalprotection, yet the composition is so oor a conductor of heat that a three-.eighths inch board of this material will prevent ignition of paper on the surface opposite a; ame

for a longer period than aninch thickness of ordinary plaster would.

A board three-eighths of an inc'hl in thickn ness molded upon a backing. reinforced with` transverse strips of thin sheet iron and; Y

GRA VVALPnn,

besto's boards by grinding or san nailedupon ordinary wooden joists forms a very rigid wall upon which a. finishing coat of plaster for interior walls or of stucco for exterior walls may be applied, and such a wall complies with the requirements of a rigid building code for locationsin .which` sheet metal lathing and heavy plaster are ordinarily specified. The cost is much less than that of 'the ordinary wooden laths, rough coat, and finishing coat ofthe current building practice. Another waste product of asbestos manufactureis what is known as asbestos sandings, this material being the rtion. 'removed from'the surface and e es vof asdpapering. This waste material consists of asbestos fibers and cement and is similar in its qualities to the crushed asbest-ic.

It is of course obvious that asbestos itself may be used with plaster to form a board of even better quality than that produced by the use of asbestic or asbestos sandings.

In the drawings, v A

Figure 1-is ahorizontal section of a preferred form of reinforced board secured to its su ports and provided with a surface or Fig'. 2 is an' elevation, and Fig. 3 an enlar d detail sectionof thestructure shown in ig..1; p 4 1 Figs. 4, 5 and 6, are fragmentary plan views-o' alternative forms of reinforcement;

Fig.l Tis. a fragmentary perspective view of a'modification;

l Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section showing a modification of the arrangement of the reinforcing fabric, and v Fig.`9 illustrates any alternative form of 4 nailing strip.

A In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the backingl 'is a sheet of wire cloth which may be ofthe kind used for ily screens. Upon thisbacking, strips 2,v 2, vof sheet liron, which may be galvanized. or otherwise rust-proofed, or out from tin l or terne plate, are laid substantially paralleli with each other' transversely of the' sheet from edge to edge. 'these fiat strips being ofa width suiiicient to receive the securing nails driven therethrough into the supporting studs' or joists 3, 3e The nailin `strips or strapsv 2 are secured by spot -`wel' ing directly to the wire mesh and the" Vsecuringnails 4 are driven through thesevstraps and through the wire mesh at 5 into the studs or joists 3.

The surface of the board will be provided with marks 7 which may consist of indenta-` tions of any desired form to indicate the position of thel nailing "strips, so that the nail may be driven throu h the center of the strip. These strips will of course be of sufficient width to permit a reasonable amount of variation in the driving of the securing nails.

As a means of securing the nailing strips 2 firmly in place in the plastic body of the boards, lugs 9 may be formed upon, or secured to the strips 2, a preferred shape being shown in Fig. 2, in which the upwardly bent 'member 9 is dovetailed to o'er the maximum resistance to Withdrawal of the member from the composition 8.

The metallic reinforcement will be treated with a special heavy coating of some rustproofing material before embedding it in the cement.

11. The plastic composition passes through the meshes of the backing and of the secondary reinforcement so that the surface layer is a coating of plastic material, to which the ordinary finishing coat of plaster will firmly adhere for interior work, or to which stucco will cling to form a decorative surface for'exterior work.

It has been found that an open meshed but strong burlap forms a highly satisfactory reinforcement, since lthe plastic material passes readily through its mesh and if the burlap is treated with any of the ordinary fireproofing solutions before it is embedded in the surface of the plastic cornposition it will resist the action of flames because of the protection afforded by the heat resisting coating containing asbestos.

After the burlap has been pressed into the wet plasticcomposition a sanding coat of rough gypsum is sprinkled over the surface, absorbing a sufficient quantity of water from the wet composition to adhere and to form a very satisfactory surface for the adhesion of, the finishingy coat which will preferably be made of aY reproof com osition consisting of gypsum, lime, and as stos flour.

This board having such a large percentage of asbestos is li hter than plaster for the same thickness, ut since itis fireproof, a thinner coat is used. Furthermore, because of the material being fireproof, a much lighter metallic reinforcement may be used. The complete coating is much thinner and much lighter than plaster upon metallic lath for equal fire protection.

' Ceilings are thus much lighter, and by reversing the position of the reinforcement, or (which amounts to the same thing) by placing the sanding coat on the surface next to the reinforcement and'using that surface as the outer surface in ceilings, the plaster composition cannot fall off even in a lire, because the metallic reinforcement will support it.

In a ceiling. the resistance to pressure upward, or toward the supporting beams is not necessary, and the reinforcement may be placed near the outer or lower surface to act as a support to prevent falling of the plaster.

Water thrown against a hot board of this composition will not cause cracking, and the anchors upon the reinforcement bind the composition together with the aid of the burlap, so that in a fire, the material will not be knocked ofl' by a stream of water thrown by a hose.

The extra weight of the ordinary plaster will tend to make it fall in case of fire sooner than the lighter material of the composition board. i

Une of the principal objections to the use of plaster boards has been the difficulty in securing a proper finish along the joists where the boards meet. Where such boards are made of paper pulp or other fibrous material, there is almost always a certain amount of` swelling and shrinking with atmospheric changes, and this action produces cracks so that in some cases almost every joint can be discerned.

Where the boards are made of a plastic composition, there is less shrinkage, but such cracks as appear are found at places where the boards meet.

To prevent such cracking and at the same time to protect the headsof the securing nails from the action of flames, I have devised the protecting reinforcement illustrated in Fig. 1.

The nails 4 are driven into the boards and countersunk as shown at 10. A strip of plaster is then run down the joist to fill in the space between the edges of the board 4 completely conceals the fiat ridge made by the wire and plaster reinforcement along the joist and cracking is entirely prevented.

The strips 12 are preferably of wire, woven as a narrow strip about two or three inches in width. It will be supplied convenientl in rolls or bundles. By weaving a specia narrow strip, the danger is avoided of having projecting wire ends to interfere with the working of the finished coat.

Ifthe strips are cut from a .wide piece of Wire' fabric the edges. will preferably be folded back upon the surface of the strip. In place of a wire strip, it is evident that burlap or other fabrics, or broad tapes, or

even strips of suitable paper or other material resistant Y"to tensile stresses may be used, the details of'such strips forming no part of the present invention.

lfVhen nails are driven through a board having other than a papen surface, the heads are ordinarily left exposed and the metallic 'nail transmits the heat of fiames to the wooden supporting beams causing a rapid charring. The hot nails in the charred wood cannot resist the outward pull caused by the heavy material and the entire board pulls loose and falls, leaving a passage for the fire.

In the present system the nails are counter-sunk and a considerable thickness of plaster lies between the heads and the exposed surface. The nails cannot bereached.

by the flame as long as the asbestos composition forming the finishing coat is intact. The metallic reinforcement and its securing nails are protected by an asbestos composition which is very resistant to heat. They will thus remain in position, holding the boards in place, and maintaining a fireproof protecting layer intact over the entire surface. The long projectinar anchors onthe nailing strips engage 'firmly with the composition being interlocked with a large 'portion of'themass and the nailing strips are welded to the wire mesh. When the nailing strip and reinforcing mesh are fastened to the supports, the plastic material cannot fall off in sheets as in the case of those forms of board in which the sole support of the composition is an inflammable paper surface.

It is evident that many modifications may be made in the structure and arrangement ofV the reinforcing means without departing from the spirit of the invention. The reinforcing material used as a backing may consistfof expanded metal lathing` having flat inextensible portions 14 and intermediate open portions. 15 as shown in Fi 4.

Another suitable reinforcement 1s that shown in Fig. 5, in which a wide mesh screen l has fiat nailing strips 17 woven into the bo'dy of the fabric at suitable intervals. Instead of the fiat strips 17 the woven fabric may have the wires beaten more closely tonailing strips.

gether at intervals to form closel woven bands as indicated at 1 8, such ban s acting as nailing. strips. For certa-in uses the wire reinforcement may be omitted from the back and a fabric which mayfconsist of ,either cloth or paper substituted therefor upon which nailing strips may be secured preferably at somewhat closer intervalsv than when the wire mesh is used. This structure is indicated in Fig. 7 in which 19' is the fabric backing' and 20 ,arethe reinforcing For greater strength, the reinforcement 1 may be folded at the edge of a board outwardly toward the surface and then at an angle inward as indicated in Fig. 8, the folded fabric preventing any possibility of cracking away pieces of the plastic material when nails are driven into a support through 'this folded edge.

The nailing strips are not necessarily flat but maybe ribbed as indicated in Fig. 9 to provide additional rigidity, or they may have any other suitable transverse section, the essential'features being that they shall have sufficient strength, that they shall be substantiallyinextensilole the direction of their length, that they shall be of sufficient width to receive a nail readily and that they shall not be too resistant to 'the point of a nail vto prevent it being easily driven therethrough. The strips will be of a thickness adapt-ing them to be severed by an ordinary wood saw.

In 'practice the boards will be made thirtytwo 1nches Wide and about twenty-seven inches high, the joints of all the boards being on as few lines as possible so that-the reinforcing strips 12 can be run along the edges of several boards at a time.

In order that a finishing coat may adhere properly to a wall board there must be a certain suction In other words the rough vcoat or wall board must be sufficiently porous to absorb some of the moisture from the finishing coat. If a rough coat or plaster board is too porous the water will be withdrawn from the finishing coat-so rapidly 'that not enough will remain for proper hydration of the |gypsum. If the rough coat icsVv or plaster board is not sufficientlyporous,

the finishing coat will set as a separate layer with very, little adhesion to the rough coat or plaster board. In either case the finishing coat will .be likel'y to crack and fall ofi'.

To secure the proper adhesion, thev degree of -suction of the present wall board is regulated by the use of a size of casein or other suitable material applied to the surface of the wall board. l

Wall boards constructed as described herein may readily be sawed to fit spaces of smaller dimensions than those ofthe boards. The texture is such that nails wil-lf'penetrate the board without crackingit and 'a finishing coat applied to the surface will adhere as firmly as to the ordinary rough coat of plaster.

By the use of this board wooden and metallic lathing are dispensed with and the time required for the application of the vboards is much less than that needed to put on lathing and the rough coat of plaster.

j F urthermore,y the undesirable moisture and dirt unavoidable in putting on the ordinary rough coat is done away with by the use of this factory-made rigid ireproof building material. The finishing coat consisting of gypsum, lime and asbestos flour, is much more iireproof than the ordinary plaster finishing coat. It forms an excellent base for paint and other decorative y liquid compositions.

' .v lic strips.

abutting edges of the panels.

This application is a division of lapplication Serial No. 493,921, filed August 20, 1921, the parent application being limited to the arrangementl of the strips 12 at the YIt will be obyious that-many variations and modiiicationsmay be made in the structure and compositions herein described and lI do not therefore Wish to be llimited to the plastic composition body engaging theprojectin4 members.

3. board comprising a metal fabric backing, a series of metallic nailing strips spaced apart and secured to lthe backing, said strips having projecting members and a lastic composition body interlocked with said members.

4. A board comprising a fabric backing,

a series of metallic strips adjacent to the.

backing and having projecting members, and a. plastic composition body engaging the members. 5. Aboard comprising a fabric backing, a series of metallic strips adjacent to the backing and having projecting members, a lastic composition body engaging the inemers, and a secondary reinforcing fabric adj acentto the surface remote from the metal- 6. A board com rising a fabric backing, a series of meta ic strips secured to the backing and havinprojecting members, a plastic composition dy engaging the inembers, and a secondary reinforcing fabric acljacent to the surface remote from the metallic strips. j

7. A board comprising a. metal fabric backing, a series of metallic nailing strips extending transversely of the board7 a body consisting of a substantially fireproof plastic composition, and a secondary metallic reinforcing fabric adjacent tothe surface remote from the fabric backing.

8. A board'comprising a fabric backing adjacent to one surface, a series of metallic nailing strips extending transversely of the board and having projecting members, a body consisting of a substantially iireproof plastic composition interlocked with said projecting members and having a secondary reinforcing fabric adjacent to itsouter surface remote from the fabric backing, and a layer of rough gypsum forming sald outer surface. Y j

V9. A board comprising a metallic backing fabric, a series of 'metallic nailing strips arranged transversely of the board and secured to the backing, a body consistin of a plastic composition of asbestos and p aster, and a secondary fireproof reinforcing fabric adjacent to the surface of theboard, the plastic composition extending through the fabric to receive a surface coating of plastic material.

10. A board comprising a lastic com osition body, ametallic fabric backing, anV a series of -iat metallic strips adjacent to the backing within said body and capable of perforation -by a nail.

11. A board comprising a plastic composition body having metallic nailing strips adapted to receive a nail at any point throughout their length, and a reinforcing backing adjacent -to said strips,lthe nailing strips being secured to the backing.

12. A board comprisinga metallic backing fabric, a series of metallic nailing strips arranged transversely of the board, a body consisting of a plastic composition of asbestos and plaster, and a secondary fireproof reinforcing fabric adjacent to thesurface of the board, the plastic composition extending through the fabricto receive a surface coating of plastic material.

13. A board having a nailing str1 therein extending transversely thereof an adapted to receive a nail at any point throughout its length, said board havin upon its sur# 12 face a line located substantia ly opposite the central axis of said strip.

14. A board comprising a lastic composition having a series of nai ing stri s extending transversely of the board adjacent to one surface and a fabric reinforcing strip extending longitudinally of the board at substantially right angles to the nailing stri of t e board.

and adjacent to the opposite surface 1 0 15. A board comprising a plastic compo- Siticn having a series of flat tension members extending transversely thereof adjacent to one surface, said members having projecting elements interlocking with the plastic composition.

16. A board com rising a plastic com osition having a series of flat tension strips extending transversely thereof adjacent to one surface, Said strips being adapted for perforation by a fastening means at .any point in their length and having projecting members interlocking With the plastic composition.

17. A board comprising a plastic compop sition having a series of flat tension strips extending transversely thereof, said strips being adapted for perforation by a fastening means at any oint in their length.

18. A board as 1n claim 19, in which the flat strips are metallic .and of a thickness adapting them to be severed by an ordinary Wood saw. i

In testimony whereof I aiix ,my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CURRY ORA WALPER.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR MINNIOK, CHARLES W. STAUFFIGER. 

